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Leviticus 23, read well … finally

What is written; how readest thou?...

It is more than obvious that the fourth commandment pertains to week Sabbaths: The seventh day, is the Sabbath of the Lord. Thorough study in the Old Testament shows that only these were ever called Sabbath of the Lord, Sabbath unto the Lord, My Sabbaths, My holy day … the holy of the LORD, honourable (Isaiah 58:13), or the Sabbath unto (i.e. in honour of) the Lord. Also, in the New Testament Jesus testified that He is Lord of the Sabbath.

On the Sabbaths of the Lord we are reminded of God as Creator, and we make a full stop to commemorate that His work was done on the seventh day, and we acknowledge the day to be holy, because He had proclaimed it to be so. It is His work and His rest from His Creation that we celebrate, on His holy day.

The festival sabbaths were days of partial ceasing* from work for the people; feasts of (or: unto) the Lord, with specified offerings for (or: unto) the Lord, but holy convocations for (or: unto) the people, and “your sabbaths” (verse 32).

The feast Sabbath of Yom Kippur, was different. That was a complete ceasing - "a sabbath of rest" - to make an atonement for you - the people. The Lord had not to be atoned for; the people were. Notice that the fact that it is so explicitly said that Yom Kippur should be a complete rest between the other six feasts of the Lord, implies that the other feast rest were not complete.

So, on the sabbaths unto you (verse 32) they partially ceased their work and had to proclaim them to be holy convocations (verse 2), to commemorate that He had made a provision for sin. On these days the convocation was proclaimed to be holy - not the day in itself, and they did the proclaiming, not God! In which they brought offerings for (or: unto) the Lord as a token that they wanted to be reconciled with Him.
That was surely an argument for the people of Israel to make pit stop, to take notice. The way to do that was to call out a day of partially rest and celebrate God’s solution to men’s problem of sin.

The focus of Leviticus 23 is therefore not on the Sabbath of the Lord (singular in verse 3!), but on the Feasts of the Lord (plural in verse 2 and 4!). And how those were arranged through the year – the first was Pesach, the last was Sukkot. And after Sukkot they could return in peace to their dwelling places in the land.
The Lord is not presenting a perpetual holy calendar here. He simply points out the great mile stones on the road to reconciliation of humanity. It was a yearly, repetitive rehearsal of the great plan of salvation. None of these feasts will be celebrated on the new earth. They were just shadows of things to come. But there will be a weekly Sabbath of the Lord on the earth made new (Isaiah 66:23).

We understand very well that the fulfilment of this all was then yet to come. And it came in Christ.
What a beautiful symbolism of the Christian era – from the deliverance from sin in Christ at the cross to the everlasting life of complete peace (rest: see Hebrew 4:9-11, 14-16) on the earth made new – the anti-typical promised land.

So, now that the reality has come, it is of no use to turn back to the shadows of the past. To put it in another way - we have been to the mountain and have seen the promised land, it’s of no use to turn back to Egypt to ponder on the promise of a promised land. Israel did, and they ended up never reaching the promised rest.

And now let’s read in Leviticus 23 (from KJV)
introduction ...
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
Not this one ...
3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
restart ...
4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
first feast 
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover.
second feast
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
third feast
9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.
14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
fourth feast
15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.
18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD.
19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.
20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.
21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
fifth feast
23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
sixth feast
26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.
29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
32It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
seventh feast
33 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
epilogue 1 ...
37These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
I tell you again, not this one ...
38Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.
more stipulation for seventh feast ...
39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
43That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
epilogue 2 ...
44 And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

“The whole Jewish economy is a compacted prophecy of the gospel,” and every service commanded by God in the Jewish economy was either a shadow of the service of our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, or of the service enjoined upon the earthly congregation for whom he is officiating.” --S.N. Haskell, The Cross and its shadow, p. 61.

The several feasts of the LORD were intended to teach the great lesson of salvation. They were the great picturesque object lessons of the work of redemption that the Messiah would come to accomplish. They were not merely times of joy and nice food, but held deep spiritual meaning. The fact that each feast had its accompanying temple sacrifices and offerings clearly suggests the typology of salvation. As the temple lost its significance at the cross, so the feasts, which were closely tied to mandatory temple rituals. Picture yourself keeping Yom Kippur without a temple, the goats, the rams, the bull and a high priest!

The apostle Paul was emphatic about this subject, for in his time there were people who were confusing the brethren.
"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath" Colossians 2:16.

"But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain" Galatians 4:9-11.

At this very moment Christ is in the heavenly sanctuary serving in our behalf as sacrifice, priest, High Priest, Mediator, Counselor, Mighty God and Prince of peace and He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).

By holding on to "our" ceremonial rests (they were unto the people), we are diminishing the costly purchase of salvation, for we testify that Christ's offering was incomplete, that it lacked one small detail - our efforts.

"In this ordinance, (The Last Supper) Christ discharged His disciples from the cares and burdens of the ancient Jewish obligations in rites and ceremonies. These no longer possessed any virtue; for type was meeting antitype in Himself, the authority and foundation of all Jewish ordinances that pointed to Him as the great and only efficacious offering for the sins of the world. He gave this simple ordinance that it might be a special season when He Himself would always be present, to lead all participating in it to feel the pulse of their own conscience, to awaken them to an understanding of the lessons symbolized, to revive their memory, to convict of sin, and to receive their penitential repentance. He would teach them that brother is not to exalt himself above brother, that the dangers of disunion and strife shall be seen and appreciated; for the health and holy activity of the soul are involved.

This ordinance does not speak so largely to man's intellectual capacity as to his heart. His moral and spiritual nature needs it. If His disciples had not needed this, it would not have been left for them as Christ's last established ordinance in connection with, and including, the last supper. It was Christ's desire to leave to His disciples an ordinance that would do for them the very thing they needed - that would serve to disentangle them from the rites and ceremonies which they had hitherto engaged in as essential, and which the reception of the gospel made no longer of any force. To continue these rites would be an insult to Jehovah. Eating of the body, and drinking of the blood, of Christ, not merely at the sacramental service, but daily partaking of the bread of life to satisfy the soul's hunger, would be in receiving His Word and doing His will." (I emphasize)
--(EGWhite, RH June 14, 1898){SDA Bible Commentary, vol 5, p.1139, par.5 and 6)

Bottom line:

1. The Feast days of Pasha, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost were fulfilled at His first coming: His death at the cross; the hastily burial; His resurrection; His presenting Himself as atoning sacrifice before God in heaven.
2. The Lord's Supper points to His second coming - as He declared so Himself- and annuls those four feasts.
3. The Feast days of the Trumpet, Yom Kippur point to the heavenly judgment that is taking place right now.
4. The last feast of the Tabernacles points to our sojourning in temporary heavenly tents before inheriting the earth when the New Jerusalem comes down after 1,000 years.

When he comes He will come not as Messiah, but as KING of king and LORD of lords. And His church can celebrate this feast of hope, not at a fixed time in the year, but as often as we want.

The one who claims he must keep the feasts days as holy, must by all means follow his own conscience, but he has no right to judge brethren who are otherwise convicted, by telling them that they will not make it to heaven because of disobedience.